Please, Kidnap Me?
by The Silent Rumble
Summary: It was just a dare, just a stupid dare. "Please kidnap me", read the sign. But after the adbuction, everything changed -- and not for the better.
1. Look, he's asking for it!

He hadn't been expecting anything as he walked towards the van. They were on their way to the pizzeria; he and Joe were supposed to meet Callie and Iola. Someone had grabbed him and shoved him against the wall, ordering him to be quiet. They'd left him there for a few minutes until Joe had come out. That's when Frank saw the sign on Joe's back.

"I'm Joe Hardy, please kidnap me." Who would put that sign on his back? Joe had been trying to lay low since one of his father's enemies escaped from jail. Now everybody would know who Joe was! Frank was furious with whomever had done it.

--This Is A Line--

"Quiet!" The man had hissed, slapping the duct tape over Frank's mouth. Before Frank even blinked, his hands were tied firmly with rope. "Get him," the man had said, nodding to Joe's brother. He turned towards Frank. "You should really thank your brother," he said, "Without that sign we never would have known he was Joe Hardy. We knew you, of course, and were planning on grabbing you first – getting the information out of you. Luckily, we didn't have to do that."

--This Is A Line Or At Least It Appears To Be--

Joe absently chewed on his bottom lip as he eyed the man slowly approaching him. He was beginning to think that it had been really dumb of him to take that dare. Biff and him had had been joking around earlier, and Biff had dared him to walk around town with a sign that said, "I'm Joe Hardy, please kidnap me." In retrospect it probably hadn't been the smartest plan.

As the man got progressively closer Joe pondered whether he should run, or fight the guy off. The decision was taken out of his hands when a second man rolled down the dark tinted windows of the car he sat in and shoved his brother's head out the window allowing Joe to see that they had already kidnapped his brother before quickly pulling his brother back into the car.

"Look at this, he's asking for us to kidnap him." The first man shouted back to the man in the car before gesturing for Joe to walk toward him. Joe sighed and resolved never to listen to Biff again before walking slowly toward the kidnapper.

The kidnapper grabbed Joe's arm and shoved him in the van. Before he could even blink he was grabbed, shoved in the back of the van, and tied up. "Let's go," the second man said.

The sign was ripped off Joe's back and tossed out the window. "I thought you said it would be _hard _to find the Hardy brats," the driver whined. "I'm always up for a good challenge. You said I might even get to use my pistol!"

"Shut up!" The man holding the gun swung with the car. "You'll get to use your pistol, don't worry," he said, looking threateningly at Frank.

--This Is A Line Or At Least It Appears To Be--

It was a long and silent ride to where they were going to be held. When they arrived, Frank was yanked out of the car and thrown to the ground, then forcibly dragged into the deserted building. He had no idea who the men were, but they obviously knew him. When they opened the door, they had handed the brothers off to two other masked men. Only one stayed.

"Let's show Hardy we mean business," one man barked. "Get the video camera, Hobbes."

_Great_. Frank hated it when people had planned kidnappings in advance. He wasn't sure what was worse, planned-in-advanced kidnappings or abductions done on the spur of the moment.

Hobbes was back with the video camera within thirty seconds. It took less then twenty seconds to set it up. The gunman stood in front of the camera.

_Dammit_, Frank thought. They obviously had this planned to the teeth.

"Fenton Hardy," he said, "We have your sons. Both of them. If you do not comply, we will kill them. First, let us show you we mean business." The gunman grabbed Frank and held him to the floor.

"First," the gunman said, "We will return Frank. But not in the best condition, I'm afraid. Rest assured, we can re-grab him if need be. But I don't think that will be necessary. Hobbes, begin."

With that, Hobbes slammed his fist into Frank's stomach, causing him to gasp in pain. "Naturally, we do not want Frank to talk about this event," he said, grabbing Frank by the throat and squeezing hard.

The elder Hardy was soon gasping for air while the kidnappers laughed appreciatively. "The trick is to squeeze hard enough that his vocal cords are significantly bruised, but light enough that you don't snap his neck. It took a few dead kidnap victims before I got the combo just right." The kidnapper remarked cheerfully, he finally removed his hands from their position around Frank's neck when the boy's lips had turned blue. He allowed Frank to slump to the ground, struggling to draw in air.

"Don't try our patience, Hardy; you will receive further information with our demands, and the location of your eldest son. You better hurry, if I get bored I tend to practice my technique…" For good measure the man kicked Frank several times in the ribs causing the teenager to see black spots in front of his eyes. An ominous cracking noise indicated that his ribs hadn't held up well against the onslaught.

Spots danced once more before Frank's eyes and his world turned black. "Looks like Frankie boy isn't doing so hot. You better act fast, Hardy." And with that the other man turned off the video recorder. The gunman neatly stepped over Frank's fallen body to talk to his partner.

"Good job with the tape." The first kidnapper said nodding toward Frank's fallen body, "That'll have Hardy freaking out for sure, add Frankie boy's injuries to the fact that we still have his youngest and Hardy will be eating out of the palm of our hands within hours. I must say this is one of our best plans." He finished ignoring the fact that Joe was struggling against his bonds on the other end of the room and glaring at the two men.

"Yo, blondie, give it a rest, you're not going to escape, now I'm going to go drop off your brother where your daddy can find him and you're going to stay here and behave, seeing as you want to keep your brother alive," The man who had strangled Frank ordered Joe.

"Where are you taking my brother?" Joe yelled as he pulled against the man who was dragging him.

"I was thinking of someplace real nice," the kidnapper said with a smile. "You know, _like maybe the bottom of the lake if you don't cooperate!" _


	2. Too Much Hurt

Joe awoke to a dark, dingy room, groaning in pain. He couldn't see anything and quickly realized that he was blindfolded. Angirly, he tried to move his arms, but found that he couldn't. Frusterated, he tried to yell for help, but again, he couldn't.

They had taken Frank away a few hours ago after comming in, yelling and screaming at him, asking what hands he wrote with. Joe had replied "his right", but then they yelled, "That's not right, is it? We know that's not right!"

Frank had once won a prize because he could write with both hands. Apperently, he was internationally famous for it. Joe was furious, if they already knew, why did they ask?

He never understood kidnappers. Firstly, who would want to kidnapp someone in the first place? Sure, he could see doing it for money, maybe. But after that, kidnapping someone just to inflict pain on them or... he didn't get it.

"Wake up, Hardy!" a voice harshly yelled and Joe grimmanced.

Joe tried to say something but it was quickly muffled under his gag. "Mmmph," he said. "Mmmph."

"Shut up," the man hissed. "If you try and escape, Frank'll get it! Hobbes is at the hospital with him now, and you know how much he likes his pistol."

Joe nearly puked. HOBBES was at the hospital? Hadn't they put Hobbes on the video, without the mask?

He paled as he realized who Hobbes was. Hobbes was Dr. Bates! "No!" Joe yelled as soon as his gag was ripped off. Snoopy looked familar because he was Jake, his dad's piolet!

"Oh, yes," Jake said with a smile. "I see you recognize who I am. That's good," he said with a grin, "that's very good."

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Frank awoke with a dry taste in his mouth. When he looked up, he saw that he was in a hospital bed. "Where's Joe?" he tried to ask, but no sound came out.

"Oh, good, our patient is awake," Dr. Bates said with a smile. "How are you, son?"

Again, Frank tried to talk, but quickly found he coudn't. When he lifted his arm, he grimanced in pain; all his fingers felt broken.

"What happened to his hands?" Laura asked, shocked. Frank was a fluid signer, he could sign quicker then anyone she knew, and he wasn't mute or deaf. Some of hsi friends were, though, and he kept up on the language so he could converse with them.

"I think they crushed them," Dr. Bates said. "That's what it looks like, anyway. I'm not sure how. I'm sorry."

Frank's face paled as he looked at Dr. Bates again. They had said they were going to watch him, but he didn't know how closely. He tried to point, but after two inches, his arm grew tired and he dropped it down.

"Are you okay?" Fenton asked, knowing full well that Frank was nowhere near okay. He vowed to bring these people to justice, at any cost. He could only hope, and pray, that his son would speak again.

"I think he's thirsty," Dr. Bates said, helping Frank sip a cup of water. Frank was terrified. He knew Dr. Bates was Hobbes, but he had no way to prove it, since he couldn't speak and was litterly pinned to the bed. He could only hope that his father would be able to guess.

Frank tried to struggle as he felt Dr. Bates grip his wrist, but Dr. Bates' grip tightened, and Frank stopped. "Visiting hours are over soon," Dr. Bates said. "I'd suguest you all get some good rest tonight."

You're going to need it, he thought, grinning evilly.


	3. The Finding

Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the short chapter with no explanation yesterday

_Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the short chapter with no explanation yesterday. Life has been really crazy lately, things have settled down some though. (I now have weekends free. Some of them, anyway). So anyway, that being said, hopefully I'll be able to update soon! Thanks for everyone who reviewed. Chapter number three up._

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Frank was in a mild state of panic, but he couldn't reveal that to anyone. Dr. Bates was already angry enough with him. He hated this, the fear. He couldn't wait until his father discovered Dr. Bates was Hobbes; his father would surely kill Dr. Bates then. Or at least put him in prison for life.

He wanted Joe. Joe would recognize Dr. Bates as Hobbes. Hopefully, Joe had already recognized Snoopy as Jake. _Who else could betray them now_? He silently wondered. He also wondered what on earth they met by fact they didn't know who Joe was. Heck, Dr. Bates knew their entire family history; Jake knew Joe better then anyone else but his parents and Frank!

If he had to guess, he would say it was something they had come up with to make Joe feel bad. Then again, he hadn't recognized either of the drivers in the van, maybe _they_ didn't know very much about Joe. Still, the whole situation didn't make since. He was terrified of Bates, remembering with a sick stomach just how joyfully the man had squeezed his throat.

_Now_ he knew why they had said they could get him anywhere, anytime.

That was his last thought before he surrendered to the drug Dr. Bates had slipped into his water.

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Joe was exhausted. They wouldn't let him sleep. Anytime he even _looked_ like he was about to drift off, someone would come and hit him, or dump water on him, or something. He was terrified. Even when he (if) got out of there, "Snoopy" – aka Jake, would know exactly where he was, every minute.

"Time to make another video!" Hobbes said cheerfully. He didn't recognize Hobbes, even though he recognized Jake. He had the sinking suspicion that Hobbes, too, was familiar. If only he could talk to Frank, Frank would know. "What do you think, Snoopy? Should Scooby help make it?"

Jake shook his head. "No, Hobbes. Scooby's too close to the investigation. Hardy would recognize his voice instantly."

Scooby stepped in the room. "I could do the video without speaking."

"No," Jake said firmly. "You're too close to the investigation. You're our only link to it. You're not allowed."

Scooby glared. "Look, the kid already knows who you are. We can't let him go without him forgetting that. Let me remind you that you're not the boss here."

"I never said I was the boss, but I think Boss would not want us to take that risk, to have you in the video."

"I agree." The one who was apparently called Boss raised himself from his seat, and Joe paled.

"Boss" was Chief Collig.

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Fenton Hardy was livid.

Dr. Bates had practically _ordered_ him from the hospital, something he'd never done before. Sure, Frank was getting agitated; all the more reason for someone to be with him – someone that he knew! It wasn't like it was his fault that Frank was in this predicament.

Also, Chief Collig wasn't making the investigation a priority. "We just had a murder, Fenton, and I'm not at liberty to discuss it, but I think it's involved in the case. If I solve this murder I could find the link between them."

He had contacted the FBI, who were looking for Joe, but they had very little evidence to go on. They were questioning Fenton and considering putting Frank in Witness Protection.

"After all," the FBI assigned to the case replied, "They did say that they could get him, at any time. At the risk of offending you, I'm calling a full-class investigation on your friends and family."

Then he'd left and Fenton hadn't heard from him since.

Laura was willing to put Frank in Witness Protection, but only, she said, if someone was with him. Namely Fenton or her.

Gertrude, who would normally help out in this situation, wasn't anywhere to be found. It wasn't that she was missing, but she was still unreachable. Besides; she had a job now, and it wasn't fair of Fenton to interrupt her life just because he needed help. That, and after the spat Laura and Gertrude had had last year at Thanksgiving, he wasn't too eager to have her back at the house again.

He sighed as the FBI agent stepped into the house. "I didn't see you at the door," Fenton said apology.

"In my previous life, I was a ninja," the FBI said with a smile. "Fenton, we have to move Frank into witness protection – now."


	4. Traitor to the cuase

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

_Mildly twisted? Oh, just you wait and see…_

_Thanks for everyone's reviews. Here's a present for An-Jelly-Ca before I leave for the weekend! _

Frank still couldn't communicate with everyone. Every time he tried to sign something, his fingers wouldn't move. He tried to write with a marker, but soon found he couldn't. He hated the safe house; his parents weren't there, and the only person who was there was Sam Radley. He had quickly grown to hate Sam; every time he tried to communicate, Sam grew agitated. He was wondering if he was going crazy or if Sam was really involved.

"How are you feeling, Frank?" Sam asked with a smile. "Do you want some water?"

Frank shook his head "no", but Sam didn't seem to understand the communication and gave him the water anyway. Frank tried to refuse to drink it, but Sam gave it to him anyway, then picked up the phone.

"He's refusing to drink water, Fenton… I don't know how much longer we can keep him here. He really needs to be in the hospital… No, I gave him the water…"

Frank didn't understand. Why would Sam care about that? He had an IV. He'd be okay. Sam was seriously starting to scare him. What scared him any more was that he had no communication with anyone. If Joe was here, _he'd _be able to communicate with Frank. But Joe wasn't there. And Frank was terrified.

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Joe was exhausted. They had made him record the video, and that had taken forever. "Boss", AKA Chief Collig, had practically killed him when he'd slipped up and said Collig's name instead of the _Boss. _Collig had yelled at him for a long time, then left him alone. Joe hadn't known what they'd done with the video.

They were finally letting him sleep, but he couldn't. He didn't know why. He thought it was perhaps because he was running on full adrenaline. He was sure if Frank was here, he'd tell him what to do. Not that he _wanted _Frank to be here. He wanted Frank to be _out_ of here.

But with Jake and Collig involved, there was little chance this would come out okay. Also, he had no idea who the "mysterious source close to the investigation" was. He didn't know, but he had a guess, and he had the sinking feeling he wasn't going to like his guess.

"Let's go," Collig yelled angrily. "We're going, right now." He grabbed Joe by the wrist and physically pulled him from the bed. Joe was too tired to resist, so he sort of limped next to Chief Collig.

He didn't understand why Chief Collig was angry, or why they suddenly had to leave, but he was too exhausted to put up a fight. He suspected that was what their plan was, to make him to tired to put up a fight, but he didn't know, and at this point, he really didn't care. He wanted Frank, but he also wanted sleep.

"Let's go," Collig yelled at him, "_faster_!" He shoved Joe into the SUV, then slammed the door.

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"The plan is in motion," Sam Radley replied to Chief Collig. "We're set. I have moved Frank from Safe House XYZ and placed him back in the hospital. I will give you the location of the hospital as soon as we are ready to abduct him again. I cannot give you it at this exact moment."

"Good. The plans are in motion. I have moved Joe from our Safe House, Safe House 16-16. I've put him in Safe House 994."

"Let us begin the plans for war," Sam Radley said. "They dare not _not_ give us what we want."


	5. No Safe Place

Traitors

Traitors. What a funny word. Joe was only just now starting to grasp what that word meant. He was only just now starting to grasp what the word betrayal meant as well.

He couldn't believe that Chief Collig was involved. He couldn't believe that Jake was involved. He couldn't believe that Dr. Bates was involved. What next? Would Frank be involved?

All of the people involved, he'd trusted. He trusted Jake with his life – or at least, he had. Hadn't he often said, "You can go, Dad, I'll be here with Jake?"

Chief Collig had never wanted Frank or Joe involved in his cases, he periodically called them brats, but Joe never suspected that he hated them so much he would be willing to risk his job and his freedom to carry out an elaborate kidnap plot.

Speaking of the kidnap, Joe didn't know or understand why they wanted him captive. They had made him make a few videos, sure, but they hadn't told him what the demands were for. All they told him was to "shut up or Frank would get it!"

The sad thing was, Joe knew that he had to. He didn't dare risk Frank's life. His dad trusted Chief Collig to the umpteenth degree and had probably already told him where the safe house Frank was located in was.

"Your brother might be back with us shortly," Chief Collig said, chewing on a celery stick. "Your father hasn't paid the ransom demands yet." He smiled a little. "He still hasn't discovered any of us. He thinks Frank's safe. Well, the joke's on him; Scooby knows where the safe house location is."

Joe's mouth dropped open. First, he had thought that Chief Collig _knew_ where it was. It had become clear, listening to him, that he didn't. That meant he knew who Scooby was! Chief Collig was Boss, and occasionally his father told Chief Collig where the safe house was, but… but… Scooby could only be one person. In a situation where the crooks said they could get them "anytime", the only time Fenton told anyone about where the safe house was was one person…

Sam Radley.

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Frank was furious. Sam was driving him crazy. The nurse on duty, some lady named Anne, didn't know that Frank was getting agitated by Sam being in the room and said Sam could stay with him until his parents got here.

He had a sinking suspicion that Sam was involved with a gang. After Sam gave him the water, he was knocked unconscious; that had happened when Dr. Bates – aka Hobbes – gave him the water!

The only problem was, with his hands broken and being unable to speak, he had no way to relay this to his parents. But oh, how he wanted too! He couldn't write—he'd already tried that method. He'd tried gripping a marker; he'd tried gripping a pencil, but neither worked.

He had tried sign language, too, but he could barley move his arms. The FBI agent who had moved him to the safe house _insisted _he'd stayed there, that nobody had told. Then he had vanished again, like a ninja, like…

The Gray Man?

Frank had decided he must have been seeing things, because the Gray man slipped into his hospital room. "Sam, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. FBI, official business… private."

Sam grunted but left.

"We're getting you out of here," The Gray Man said in a whisper. "Trust no-one, not even your own parents. You'll be moved out of here very soon."

With that, he left.


	6. Chapter 6

Frank didn't like what was going on

Frank didn't like what was going on. He didn't understand anything at all. All he knew was that he was in complete darkness. The Gray Man had told him to expect to be moved, but he didn't think he was in the Gray Man's hands. He had no clue what was going on. He knew his parents suspected Dr. Bates, but he didn't think they suspected Sam and they certainly didn't suspect Chief Collig.

Every single bone in his body ached, a testimony that Frank had been transported roughly. He knew he had. He remembered being grabbed, and then shoved onto something. _It hurt. _

He hadn't seen Joe, so he didn't know if he was held captive by those who his father thought to be his _friends_ or he was safely in the care of the Gray Man.

A burst of angry swearing jolted him, and he glanced up, trying to see into the murky darkness. "Shut up, you stupid kid! Can't you do anything right? Stop it!"

Then he heard his brother's cry and hiss of pain and knew _exactly _where he was.

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Fenton was extremely angry at Sam. "You had them _right in your sight_!" He yelled. "You probably even knew who they were! Yet, you let them take Frank! How could you just let them _walk off with my son_?"

Sam stood where he was, stock-still. He never thought that Fenton would pinpoint him as one of the masterminds behind the caper, and yet, here he was, yelling at him, screaming at him and swearing at him. "Fenton, they had a gun to my head," he shouted. "What did you want me to do?"

"_I_ would have risked my life for my son, and I would have expected you to do the same! He's a just a kid, Sam, barely a teenager, his hands are broken and he can't even scream for help. How do you expect _anyone_ to defend themselves in that condition?"

"Is this man –," the middle-aged man glanced at his card, "Sam Radley?"

"Yes I am, not that it's any business of yours," Sam retorted, still furious at Fenton and nervous, thinking he was found out. "Okay! Okay!" He yelled, suddenly surprised at the menacing glare he got from Laura. He saw the handcuffs being pulled out of the middle-aged man's pocket. "Okay, I'll tell you everything I know!"

"_You_ were in on it?" Fenton roared. It took all his willpower not to slam Sam into the wall. "_You_ were in on a plan to _kidnap my son_? _You_?"

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"Sam was found out." Chief Collig's angry voice came from behind the rafters. "It's only a brief time before he spills everything."

"What about the kids? They'll hear you."

"Frank's asleep, I knocked him out myself with some sleeping pills. Joe can rot in hell for all I care."

"Lovely," Collig remarked. "At any rate, it's only a minute before Sam spills everything. We all know it. He'll spill every little detail just to keep himself out of prison."

"I know, I know, and hopefully Fenton puts him behind bars for life. We should have _never_ let him on our team. He's ruined everything. My job, my career – my wife is going to know the truth to where I was all those nights."

Jack chuckled. "Come on, Collig, she'll still think you were faithful; she won't know anything about Alice."

"Alice is my _daughter_." Chief Collig spit out the word. "Don't ever mention her again in that way, you pervert."

"I didn't imply that!" Jack retorted.

"Drop it, both of you," Dr. Bates snapped. "We need to come up with a game plan before Fenton finds out about this location. We can't move them to any of the safe houses thanks to Sam."

"I know, we can't move them _anywhere_ we normally use. I'm sure the bastard's ratting out everyone." Chief Collig thought for a second. "I know," he said with a smile. "I wonder how the Hardy boys would feel about sitting in jail for a few days?"


	7. Chapter 7

Frank was asleep in the corner. His hands, which still had the bandages on them, were slowly healing, but they were healing way to slowly for Joe to know if his brother would be able to play the piano again. Frank used to play the piano with great ferocity and speed, but after someone breaking his hands—Joe just didn't know.

Joe must have drifted off, because when he awoke, Collig and Jack were standing there, talking amoungst themselves.

"Get him," Collig commanded, and Joe was dragged from the cell. He hadn't noticed Collig and his goons standing there. "Get the other brat too."

"Hey!" Joe yelled angrily in protest as Jack picked him up. "Let me _go_! Where are you taking me? Ow, ow! That hurts!"

"Shuddup," Jack muttered, slapping him. "And where we're taking you is _none of your busines_s."

"Actually, it quite is," Chief Collig countered with a smile. "My friend has a house in the middle of nowhere, in a state somewhere in the USA. Does that help?"

"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where nobody can hear you scream," Jack chuckled.

--I am a line--

Sam sat in the interrogation room, his fingers tapping on the small wooden table. "I didn't kill anyone, Fenton. You know I could never do that."

Fenton and someone else – he had called himself "Alan" but looked strangely familiar—smiled. "Fenton may not, but I do," he said. "You remember me, right? You were arrested for counterfeiting. I was there."

"That's where I know you," Sam growled under his breath. "The _Gray _Man. What a lousy name. Your mother had a bad since of humor."

"Counterfeiting?" Fenton demanded, looking angrily at the Gray Man. "I did a thorough background check on all my employees!"

"It wasn't on his background," the Gray Man explained. "We erased it from his records because he ratted out the others who were involved. That's not going to happen this time, though."

"I'm not saying anything. We've got a huge surprise planned for Fenton. You've got the wrong man, really. They don't need me there."

"No, really, we've got the right man. Because _you, _my dear friend, will tell us everything we want to know."

"Any news on Sam?"

"He's in interrogation now," Jack said as he twisted the plane wheel. He sighed in exhaustion. "I didn't register the plane but I did triple-check it."

"Why didn't you register the plane?! When we try to land, it will be a UFO!"

"No, I entered it into the system under Fenton's name, but I didn't register it under ours. I fly Fenton all the time, so assuming Sam can hold a secret for a little bit we'll be okay."

Chief Collig sighed, then shook his head. "No, Sam's a ratter. I knew that from the beginning."

"A ratter?"

"He rats out people."

"Everyone would in that situation. How do we keep Fenton from charging to all our safe houses?"

Jack smiled, an evil grin crossing his face. "I know," he said. "We start the plans early."

--I am a line--

Frank was half asleep when he was dragged out of the plane. Joe was wide awake, but Jack had warned him that if he put up a struggle he was going to get busted up, bad. "You're my son, Jonah. We're on a family vacation. You don't know who Fenton Hardy is," Jack whispered. "Frank was mute from birth, he broke his hands falling out of a tree, and his name is Michael."

The one thing that Joe probably hated most about being kidnapped was the lies. He didn't mind lying when he was undercover – he didn't actually consider that "lying" – but he hated being forced to lie.

When they got in the doors, Jack headed towards the car rental. Hertz was endorsed by most places, and he had had no problems with Hertz.

"Greetings," the saleswoman said. She glanced at Joe, and her jaw dropped. "You look exactly like Joseph Hardy!"


	8. Chapter 8

"He's not Joseph," Jack said smoothly. "He is my son, Jonah, and this is his younger brother, Michael. We need to rent a car for two days."

"I'm sorry, my apologies," the woman said with a grimace. "I know someone named Joseph Hardy, and he just struck me because he looks _exactly _like him. Who knows—maybe they're twins in another life! What model car would you like to rent, sir?"

"Something with good gas mileage," Jack replied. "Anything that gets about 35 miles to the gallon is fine."

The woman smiled and clicked her nails on the keyboard. "I hope you don't mind my asking," she said, "And you probably feel as though I'm terribly nosy, but what happened to Michael's hands?"

"He broke 'em falling out of the tree," Jack said with a sad smile. "He and his friend were goofing off and he was shoved a little too hard."

"Ouch," the woman replied. Joe noticed her nametag read _Mary_.

_Mary, Mary… _Oh! It hit him. Mary was his mother's friend from where Laura used to work. No _wonder_ why she thought he looked familiar. _Mary, don't believe Jack's lie, please_, he whispered to himself.

"We have a scion, 2,000 miles, almost brand-new. Gets about 40 miles to the gallon. Will that work?"

"It sure will. How much per day?"

"Two hundred a day and three hundred for each additional day," Mary replied with a smile. "You can return the car to any Hertz dealer."

"Thank you," Jack replied with a smile. He got out his credit cards and was about to pay when he heard a familiar _"Police! Put your hands in the air!" _

--I'm a line--

"They tracked down Jack," Fenton said with a small smile of relief. "He had both kids with him. Mary, my wife's friend from where she used to work, recognized Joe and sounded the panic alarm. They have the place cleared now, but he's still got Joe hostage."

"That isn't good," The Gray Man muttered. "We arrested Chief Collig, he's headed back here. That's all the men that we know are involved so far, though. We haven't heard anything about this mysterious 'Hobbes' that was on the video camera."

"He's the one we probably need to be most worried about, too," Fenton muttered.

"He's the one that scares me the most," The Gray Man admitted. "He is the one, after all, who made Frank unable to speak."

"Let's head out," Fenton said. "I need to see Frank."

--This Is A Line Or At Least It Appears To Be--

"I'll kill him, I swear I will!" Jack yelled through the wall. He had barricaded Joe in the Hertz's closet. "Let me have free passage and he lives."

"Release the boy, then we'll talk," the police hollered back.

"You're not getting him unless I walk out of here a free man!"

--This Is A Line Or At Least It Appears To Be--

Dr. Bates was very angry. His plan had fallen to shambles; the war he had wanted to start and pinpoint on Fenton was gone. Chief Collig, one of his head men, was arrested; Jack was in serious trouble with the law, and Fenton was going to figure out who he was any day now.

The plan had been to grab Frank and torture him until they told them every detail about Joe. Not that they didn't already **know** everything about Joe, but they wanted something that he would be ashamed of every day of his life.

That didn't work out, though, because the _idiot_s who he had hired to drive had kidnapped Joe. They weren't supposed to kidnap him. He had, after all, wanted to use his pistol.

After kidnapping Joe, the plan had been to make Frank mute, and send him back unable to talk. Unfortunately, since they had kidnapped Joe _with _Frank, this sped up the plan immensely.

After he had Joe, he had planned to form a bond with Chief Collig and use the Chief's influence to get to some higher ups. While they still had Joe, they were going to poison every higher-up they could think of. The plan was to _keep_ Joe so that Fenton wouldn't be as eager to look for them, or if he _was_ eager to look for them, he'd have no clue who they were.

Now, the entire plan was in shambles. He had planned to kill some higher-ups, including the gray man. But now, it was in shambles.

Dr. Bates sighed as he fastened his pistol. "I'm not going down without a fight," he muttered to himself. "I'm not going down without a fight."


End file.
